Alexander Povetkin took on Christian Hammer for the WBO International heavyweight title on Friday night. The Russian, who has twice been banned for performance enhancing drugs use, was utterly dominant over the eight years younger Romanian, who had been on a good run of form since losing to Tyson Fury almost three years ago. Povetkin was landing hooks to the body and head almost at will, but Hammer seemed largely unfazed by them, hearing the final bell. However he didn’t do enough to get anything (almost at all) on the cards, which read: 120-108, 119-109 and 120-107. Hammer had a point deducted for holding in the seventh. Povetkin, 33-1 (23), will no doubt no go looking for a big money fight with Deontay Wilder or Anthony Joshua next. Hammer, 22-5 (12), will presumably try to rebuild and come again.

Saturday 16th December

Laval, Canada

Billy Joe Saunders made the brave move to travel away to Canada to fight the dangerous David Lemieux, the former IBF world champion and opponent of Gennady Golovkin, with a similar reputation as a ferocious puncher. The WBO middleweight champion wanted to make a point to the division’s big names, Gennady Golovkin and Saul Alvarez. Saunders promised to beat Lemieux, and to beat him in style, and boy did he deliver! It meant staying up, or waking up at 4am for his British fans (those not travelling out to Canada) and it was worth the effort as “Superb” lived up to his name, and to his taunt of Lemieux that he, “can’t hurt what he can’t hit.”

Lemieux may have stopped thirty three of his opponents, but it was he who several times during the fight looked staggered and bloody. There was no toe to toe action, rather majestic footwork and movement from Saunders, coupled with pinpoint punches in bunches. Any notion that the tide might swing in the Canadian’s favour as the bright start of Saunders tailed off was unequivocally dispelled as a beleaguered Lemieux, looked more lost as time ticked on. It was such a one-sided schooling that even a “home decision” was surely out of the question when the final bell rang out.

Scores of 117-111, 118-110 and 120-108 in Billy Joe’s favour fairly captured the gulf in quality between the two on the night. Lemieux, 38-4 (33), claimed, somewhat ungraciously, the Briton had, “run” from him. In truth Saunders, 26-0 (12), had delivered a textbook example on the world stage, of how to dismantle the technique of a slugger with one game plan. He deserves to be lauded, and will hopefully seal a fight with one of the big two later in 2018. Lemieux, while an exciting fighter who will stay close to world level, will no doubt be nursing a badly and the sneaking suspicion he’s been ruthlessly exposed.

Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan, 27-2 (19), went into his fight as the underdog against highly regarded Antoine Douglas, 22-2-1 (16). The ten rounder was for Douglas’s WBA- NABA middleweight title and the vacant WBO Inter- Continental middleweight title. Douglas took the early rounds but began eating needless shots. Initially they seemed not to trouble the Virginian native, but the rounds began to trickle into the bank in Spike’s favour. Suddenly in the seventh round Douglas capitulated and O’Sullivan leapt on him, battering his unfortunate opponent into the bottom ropes. Spike is already a popular man and it was yet another exciting on the road win which will widen his fanbase further.